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Urban trail network plan to be unveiled

More and more people are looking toward the future of transportation in the county, and thinking increasingly of trails and paths.

A group formed in 1996 as a subcommittee to the Colorado Riverfront Commission, the Urban Trails Committee is charged with updating the Grand Valley Trails plan, a complete valleywide network of sidewalks and bicycle lanes.

That updated trail plan will get a public showing from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Mesa County Central Services Building, 200 S. Spruce St. downtown.

“This is an opportunity for the community to tell us if we’ve missed connections or how they’re using the trail system,” said Biz Collins, co-chair of the Urban Trails Committee in a press release.

Holding the open house was an idea that came out of the first-annual Walking and Bicycle Summit held in March of this year. That event focused on “the value and importance of trails, sidewalks and routes that ensure people of all ages and abilities can walk and bike easily, safely and regularly in our community,” according to organizers.

“What we need to do is … build connections so that people can ride their bikes to work, and ride their bikes to school, and walk safely to school and to the market,” said Grand Valley Trails Alliance Executive Director Dave Grossman, about the urban trails effort.

“Those are the details that we’re going to try and prioritize and flesh out, and start encouraging our civic leaders to start putting some emphasis on,” he said.